Check Yes or No
by KB Edge
Summary: Prowl has searched most of his adult life to find the sparkling he once loved, only to discover that he had been working with him for some time. Rating has increased, please heed warnings for Chapter 3. Contains Slash, M/M
1. Part 1

Disclaimer: Transformers belongs to its respective owners and I make no money off of this. Check Yes or No is by George Strait.

Notes: I cant believe i forgot this lol, Sparkles was created by Taralynden and used with her permission.

Pairings: Jazz/Prowl  
Characters: Jazz, Prowl, Ratchet, OC SteelBack.

* * *

Prowl collapsed into the chair behind his desk tiredly. The day had been one straight out of the pit, and there hadn't even been a battle with the decepticons. Though the way it was going, it wouldn't surprise him to hear the alarms announcing one. One of the hardest parts of the day had been brushing off Jazz's continued advances. It wasn't that he didn't like the mech, he did. Perhaps more then he liked to admit, but his spark always pulsed with a hint of betrayal whenever he even considered taking the mech up on his offers. He slumped forward, bringing his hands up to cover his face. But none of that made what he had told the mech, justifiable. It had been rather cruel now that he thought about it. It was days like this that he missed Rio the most. With a sigh he pulled a datapad out of his subspace and leaned back in the chair.

The datapad was old, so very old. Its black finish faded and dull, worn away in some places to reveal a grayish silver metal. It was a completely different model then the ones he used these days. He ran a finger over the crack in its screen and gently touched the button to turn it on. It started up much slower then the newer models . As it finally lit up, he smiled at the sparkling's face that stared back at him. Rio was a pure white sparkling with big glowing blue optics. His lip plates pulled back in a denta-less grin. Prowl swiped a finger across the screen and it shifted to show another picture. This one was of himself as a sparkling, grinning shyly at the mech taking the picture, Rio was draped over his shoulder, grinning mischievously. Prowl had been a small sparkling, much smaller then most of the others at that age. His doorwings hadn't even started to grow yet. His frame had been completely black, a single color as most younglings were at that age. Even his chevron had still been black at that point.

He continued to shift through the pictures, his frame relaxing more and more. Even now, looking back he could see the love in his own optics whenever they caught sight of the white sparkling. He reached the last page and the soft smile that had slowly appeared died. There were no pictures on this page, just a short letter, and under that two boxes, each with a word beside them. Yes and No.

_"Do you love me, do you wanna be my friend?_  
_And if you do_  
_Well then don't be afraid to take me by the hand_  
_If you want to_  
_I think this is how love goes, check yes or no"_

Prowl sighed, his optics moving to the two boxes under the letter. The one next to yes had been checked. He had done it shortly after receiving the letter, while he had still been a sparkling. But he had never been able to return the datapad to its owner. Several things had happened that day, and it had been the last time he had seen Rio.

Oh sure, once he had grown into his adult frame he had attempted to locate the mech, but by the time a mech finally reaches his adult frame there are very few things that remain the same. Their armor changes, filling out and finalizing the details that have been slowly forming during their youngling-hood. It changes colors, keeping the base color but adding more colors in. The only real way to identify a cybertronian was by their optics. No matter what, no matter the mods that are added to a frame, the optics would always remain the same. But locating a mech by his optics alone was nearly impossible. And after the battle that had raged over Cybertron, there was a pretty good chance that Rio wasn't even still alive.

Prowl jerked out of his reverie as the battle alert sounded. He let out a groan and dropped the datapad down on his desk before running out the door of his office. Of course there would have to be a decepticon attack now, it just made the rest of his day perfect.

Three days later found him in the med-bay. He had sustained heavy damage during the battle and had been limited to a private medical room while recuperating. Ratchet had refused to allow him to return to his own quarters, insisting that he would not be doing any work until fully repaired and rested. Prowl had argued that he would not be able to just sit there with nothing to do, and Ratchet had relented. Bluestreak had been sent to retrieve a stack of data-pads from Prowls office and now he was reading through them, verifying that the information on them was correct before they would be filed away.

He set aside the finished pad and reached for another one, hesitating as he realized he held the one he had received as a sparkling. He stretched out his arm to lay the pad on the table beside his berth before pulling it back in and gently turning the device on. He gazed at the picture of the white sparkling for a long time, unaware that he was being watched. He came back to the present with a start as the datapad was jerked out of his hand. A protest surged forward only to die as he looked up at a curious medic.

"Alright, lets see what your up to here. It had better not be anything more then reading. If it is, you can bet being bored will be the least of your troubles." Ratchet paused in his speech to glance down at the pad he now held. His optics widened and a smile ghosted across his face. "I didn't know you knew Jazz as a sparkling."

For a brief moment, Prowl's processor blanked out, but then shock rolled through him and he floundered. "Jazz?"

"Yes. Jazz. The sparkling in the picture is Jazz. You knew him? Or is this just a picture you've dug up from somewhere?" Ratchet grew more amused as he watched the different emotions flicker across a faceplate that was usually completely emotionless.

"Y-your sure its Jazz?"

The amusement on Ratchets face was replaced by shock. He had never heard Prowl stutter before, nor had he ever heard the mech sound so vulnerable. "Yes, I'm sure. Jazz may wear a visor, but as his medic I have seen his optics before. There is no doubt in my processor that this is him."

Prowl stared at the medic, his processor whirling with the new information. Rio was Jazz. Jazz was Rio. And he was alive. A myriad of emotions flooded him until it felt like his entire world was shifting out of his control. Happiness that he had finally found Rio was paramount, but there was also an underlying confusion about what he should do with this new information.

Ratchet watched the black and white bot with concern. Deciding he didn't really want to overhaul the mechs processor tonight, he distracted him by handing the datapad back. "Want to talk about it?"

Prowl hesitated. He had always been a private bot, keeping his own business away from the prying optics of others. But this was something he sorely needed advice on and Ratchet had a reputation for being a great listener while keeping his patients secrecy. Prowl glanced up at the medic with optics full of questions, and watched as without a word, Ratchet sent a command to lock the private med-bays doors before taking a seat next to his berth.

"His sparkling name was Rio."

Lightly touching the old data-pads screen, he shifted to the picture of the two of them before handing it back to Ratchet. Ratchet took the pad and flipped through the pictures slowly, a small smile on his face as he did so.

"You loved him."

Prowl shifted on his berth uncomfortably and remained silent for so long that Ratchet was certain the bot wasn't going to answer.

"He was my everything. My creator didn't understand. He believed it was a sparkling crush. He said that sparklings weren't capable of true love."

"The idiot." Ratchet waved a hand, stopping Prowls protest. "I've known several bonded couples that fell in love as sparklings. It's frowned upon because creators usually want whats best for their sparklings and often feel that their creations should pair off with a bot that would increase their rank or wealth."

"You would think that they would want their creations to be happy."

Ratchet snorted. "One would think. Now back to your story. Did your creator find this pad and refuse to allow you to see Rio again?"

Prowl shook his head. "The day Rio gave me that, was the same day Praxus fell. We were in Iacon at the time, but my creator pulled me and my brothers from our classes and took us into hiding. When he told us we were going away, I tried to run away. I couldn't stand the thought of leaving Rio." He paused and glanced over at the data-pad now lying in the medics lap, screen still glowing with a picture of Rio sneaking up behind Bluestreak with a noise maker. "He had the school medic sedate me. By the time I finally woke up, we were far from Iacon and I had no idea of how to get back. Though it didn't stop from trying several times."

Ratchet gave an amused snort. If Prowl had been anything like he was now, as a sparkling, he could just imagine the trouble the determined bot had given his creator.

"So what are you going to do now? How do you feel about Jazz being Rio? The bots been trying to get you to go out with him for ages, and you've always shot him down."

Prowl let out a groan and dropped his face into his hands. "I doubt there's anything I can do. I said something cruel to him the last time and I haven't seen him since."

Ratchet laid a hand on the black and whites shoulder. "It couldn't have been that bad. Jazz always bounces back and keeps trying."

"I told him to quit fragging around and get back to work."

Ratchet gave a slightly startled look and then started to laugh. Prowl waited impatiently for the mech to have his fun, scowling as he watched.

"Prowl, you cant honestly think that would have offended him."

"He hasn't approached me since then. I must have done so."

"Half the crew was injured in the battle, Prowl. He hasn't had time for anything more then work and recharge." Ratchet rose to his feet and made his way to the exit. "You need to decide where you want this to go, Prowl. I have to get back to work and check on my other patients, but if you need me, send a comm."

"Thanks Ratchet."

Ratchet turned towards the door, then swung back around. "I don't know if this has occurred to you or not yet, but its highly probable that Jazz knows who you are." At Prowls shocked look, he continued. "Jazz is a special ops bot. He has programs built in for automatically cataloging and identifying bots. It would be nearly impossible for him to not know that you were the sparkling he knew back then."

Prowl's mouth worked a couple of times, giving the impression of a earth type fish, before sound managed to come out. "Why hasn't he said anything then?"

"You'll have to ask him that." Ratchet turned and exited the room, leaving behind a very confused Prowl.

* * *

_SteelBack sighed softly as he gazed down at his offline sparkling. Of his three creations, he had expected Sparkles to be the most understanding of what must happen now. The mechling had always been smarter then his vorns seemed to allow, always more logical then the other sparklings. He had been hoping that the little mech would have been an anchor to help reassure his brothers, the sudden defiance that had sprung forth had surprised him so much that only the medics quick reflexes had kept Sparkles from slipping out the door. He hated that they had to resort to sedating his creation, but with the attack on Praxus, word was out that the newly formed Decepticons were hunting down any remaining high ranking officials of the doomed city. What they were searching for, SteelBack could only guess at. But as chief Enforcer of Praxus, he couldn't risk the chance that the 'cons would come after him and his family. _

_His gaze drifted over the small black form laying completely still on the berth before him, his optics catching on the data-pad clutched to the sparklings chest. He smiled slightly, it was rare to see him without his data-pad. Curiousity spiked and he gently removed the pad from its owners grip. Powering it on, he was shocked at its contents. Understanding spilled into his processor followed quickly by a deep sadness. SteelBack had known Sparkles was friends with a polyhexian, but he had never guess that the friendship had deepened into love. Just looking at the pictures he could see that it was one of those true loves that was so very rare to find. It made what he was about to do that much harder. It would kill something in his creation's spark, but it was unavoidable. He would do whatever it took to keep his family safe._

_A small enraged cry caught his attention and SteelBack whirled to face the door, half expecting the medic to have returned with his two other sparklings, instead he was hit in the chest by a fast moving white blur. He rocked on his heels from the force of the blow but managed to keep his balance. Dropping the data-pad, he captured his attackers small fists and tugged the wriggling sparkling away far enough to get a good look. _

"_Why? What did you do to him? Whats wrong with him?" The words were spoken fast, between frantic breaths as Rio tried to make sense of the current situation. All that he was completely sure of was that something terrible had to have happened to his friend. Sparkles had vanished, missing his classes.(Something the bot would never do) So Rio had tracked him down, only to find him offline on a med-berth, with his creator nearby. Panic had set in, and he had reacted accordingly._

_SteelBack stared into the still struggling sparklings optics and knew with certainty that his creations feelings were returned whole-sparkedly. The sadness in his spark deepened painfully. He knew that separating them would be cruel, but he also knew in the deepest part of his being that a love of the kind he could see infront of him would not be denied so easily. He set the sparkling down on the edge of Sparkles berth, then kneeled before him, bringing his optics level to the wide blue ones._

"_Rio. Sparkles is alright, we just had to sedate him for his own good. There are bad mechs out there that might want to hurt him, so I have to take him away." SteelBack paused as he watched the panic that had been fading, renew. "I know you care for him. You want whats best for him don't you?"_

_Rio nodded his head fervently, he raised a hand to gently trace the contours of his friends helm. He could sense the tension in the bot before him, and was certain that he was not going to like what was coming._

"_I need you to promise me something." SteelBack watched as young, calculating optics turned back to stare at him with an intensity he had only seen in Sparkles."Promise me that if he tries to get in contact with you, that you will not respond. That if you should see him somewhere, that you will not let him know who you are."_

"_Why?" There was a challenging light in the optics that continued to stare at him fearlessly._

"_For his own safety. Should those who wish to do him harm, find him, they could kill him. You don't want that do you?" SteelBack's spark twisted at the pained look that crossed a face to young to know such pain. But he would not take back the words, he could not. He needed his family to be safe._

"_I Promise." Rio clambered to his knees on the berth and leaned over Sparkles' still form to press a soft kiss to his cheek,he whispered a few words in the mechlings audio that were too low for the adult mech to catch. Then he turned and allowed himself to be lifted to the ground. He turned serious optics back to Steelback. "But you have to promise to keep him safe."_

"_I will." He smiled slightly, knowing that in another time, another life, he would have welcomed this mech into his family with open arms. The genuine care and love Rio showed for his creation was rare these days._

_Rio stared at him for a few more moments before nodding in acceptance of the promise and then vanished out the door without a single glance back. SteelBack turned back to his sparkling, freezing as his foot stepped on something and a crack sliced through the air. Bending, he picked up the data-pad he had dropped earlier, its screen now cracked. For a moment he debated on what to do with it, before tucking it back into its owners grasp. It might be a mistake in the long run, but he was forcing his sparkling to give up more then he could imagine, and he wasn't willing to take that last little piece of Rio that he would have. He turned as the door hissed open to the reveal the medic and his other two sparklings. He explained what was going on to them, both accepting it much easier then Sparkles had. Plans were executed and in a few short breems, they vanished._

* * *

Jazz stared down at his recharging friend, his memories slowly drifting away. He raised a hand to caress the side of Prowl's face, his fingers lingering on the spot he had kissed so many vorns ago. Seeing him recharging or sedated on a med-berth never failed to bring back the memories of that day. It had been so long ago, but he could still see every detail of that day as clearly as if it had been yesterday. Walking away that day had been the hardest thing he had ever done. He did not believe for a moment that he would ever be able to do it again.

He had kept his promise, he had not told Prowl who he was, but that didn't mean he hadn't kept track of him. Once he had reached younglinghood, there hadn't been a day that went by that he hadn't known exactly where Sparkles was. When Sparkles had become Prowl and joined the Autobot cause, he had made sure that he would be near.

Now that the very idea of Prowl still being in danger of his identity getting out was ridiculous, Jazz still found himself unable to break that promise. He had never done so, and never would. But that would not stop him from spending as much time as possible near the bot he had loved all his life. Even if that bot stubbornly refused to see it.

Jazz's thought processes screeched to a halt and he leaned in as sounds from the mech infront of him indicated that he was waking up. His spark lurched then fluttered happily as blue optics flickered on to meet his through the visor.

"Jazz."


	2. Part 2

**Disclaimer: **Transformers and the song Check yes or No belong to their respective owners, and no infringement was intended.

**Check Yes or No  
****Part 2 **

"Jazz."

Prowl was elated to see Jazz at first, but it quickly faded to confusion as he tried to decide what to do. Before he'd fallen into recharge he had given the current situation a lot of thought. Allowing his processor and Battle Computer to work in tandem to come up with the best ways to deal with it. But something such as this couldn't be dealt with by logic and tactics alone.

He had known everything there had been to know about Rio. And he found himself at somewhat of a loss to realize that he had known Jazz much longer then Rio, and knew hardly anything about him. The mech was his friend, it was unforgivable.

"How do you feel?"

Concerned optics met his for a moment. Remaining silent, Prowl picked up the old datapad and passed it over to Jazz, watching with curiosity as the mech powered it on and shifted through the contents. Jazz paused on the last page, running a finger gently over the checked box at the bottom.

"How long have you known?" Jazz's voice shook slightly, betraying the calm he portrayed.

"Not long. Ratchet was right, you knew all along." Prowls own voice held a slight accusation.

Jazz shifted, his armor creaking slightly. He knew this could go badly, perhaps ending their friendship and putting a strain on their ability to work together. With all that at stake, his spark pulsed painfully. But he would not lie to Prowl.

"I've known who you were, where you were and what you were doing every day since I reached my youngling stage."

"Why didn't you tell me? You knew I didn't recognize your adult frame. You knew I was searching for Rio. You even pretended to help me look for him. Has this all been some sort of game for you? Sharpening your skills or something?" Prowls voice had taken on a quality that neither of them had heard in it before.

"No!" Jazz retracted his visor to gaze pleadingly at Prowl. "I promise-"

But Prowl wasn't done. He'd held so many emotions back over the vorns and they were starting to break free and overwhelm him. He straightened on the edge of the berth, his doorwings vibrating with hurt and betrayal.

"It _was _game wasn't it? See how long it took for me to figure it out? Or was it because you were embarrassed by the idea of being seen with me? The uptight, sparkless commander that only cares about rules and regulations?"

Something snapped in Jazz, and he jerked forward into Prowls personal space, placing a hand on either side of his hips and leaning forward until their faces were inches apart. "You know me better then that! If I was embarrassed by you, why would I have been flirting with you all these vorns? The day your creator took you into hiding, he made me promise that I would never tell you who I was, that if you ever tried to contact me, I would not respond. I don't break promises, Prowl. Ever."

Prowl scooted back on the med-berth, attempting to put some space between them, only to have Jazz lean in again.

"I loved you, Prowl. Don't ever doubt that."

Prowl stared at Jazz, his spark pulsing hard in his chest. Confusion spread across his faceplates. He ignored the last for now, concentrating on the more illogical aspects of Jazz's words. His voice lowered almost to a whisper.

"Why would you make such a promise?"

"Your creator believed it would keep you safe. That if you had any contact with anyone that knew you, that it would lead to the decepticons discovering who you were. I was a sparkling, Prowl. I only understood that you were in trouble and that by making such a promise it would keep you safe. Did you know that barely an orn after you left that 'cons came to the school looking for you and your brothers?"

Prowl shook his head, and when he spoke next, Jazz's spark fell. All emotion was gone from the bot infront of him. The mask was back firmly in place. "That was vorns ago, Jazz. I'm Second in Command of the Autobot army. I've been a visible threat to the decepticons for ages. They know where I am, have even tried to capture me multiple times. My creator is dead. There was no need for you to keep that promise."

Jazz pulled back, putting space between him and Prowl. His visor snapped back into place over his optics. "It's who I am, Prowl. Whether or not its logical to you, keeping my word is one of the few things about myself that I am proud of. If you can't handle that, then maybe I was wrong, maybe there isn't anything between us."

Before Prowl could respond, Jazz turned and walked briskly out the door, nearly colliding with it before it opened fully. He dropped his helm into his hands, a soft whimper emitting from his vocalizer. Had he just lost the one mech that had ever meant anything to him? His doorwings drooping to lay flat against his back, the emotions he had been trying to hold back suddenly flooded through him and he broke down completely. Deep whimpers escaping as his frame shuddered.

Alarms began to sound on the monitor next to his berth, though he didn't hear them. A spark deep sadness washed over him and his frame began to overheat with the force of the emotion. The whimpers turned into a loud keening as his spark clenched in on itself. Errors began to scroll across his vision. He ignored them, delving deeper into the depression that had seized him.

Ratchet entered the room at a run, a line of curses spitting from his vocalizer. Checking the monitors next to the med-berth, he quickly administered a sedative. As it began to take effect, he gently maneuvered Prowl until he was laying on his side on the berth. The shaking and rattling of his frame dieing away until he drifted off into recharge.

Running scans on the bot infront of him, he sighed as he began to repair circuits that had only just been replaced. Damage sustained in the battle had required that a good number of systems and circuits be replaced. Whatever had caused the emotional outburst in the SIC had caused his systems to begin rejecting the new additions. It wasn't a big problem he could repair it, it just meant that Prowl would not be going back on duty as soon as he would have liked. Stepping back, he made a note in the medical files then contacted the Prime to report on Prowls extended medical leave. That done, he pulled up a chair. Prowl would need to talk when he woke, and Ratchet wanted to be certain he would be there. He didn't really need the bot messing up all his work again.

_Sparkles drifted. Blackness swirled around him. His spark told him something was wrong, something was happening that he didn't want to happen, but he couldn't move, couldn't focus on his surroundings, couldn't see past the darkness. He could hear whispers that drifted around, most of them too soft to actually make out. His spark calmed, pulsing softly in a manner that he had come to understand that meant that Rio was nearby. He felt a touch ghost over his helm. He wanted to lean into the touch, let it comfort him, but he couldn't move. _

"_I promise." Rio's voice, sad and yet determined._

_He drifted again for a moment, or a eon, he wasn't sure which. Another touch, this one on his cheek, and much softer then before. Rio was there, just out of reach and it annoyed him that he couldn't move. A growl drifted through the darkness, never making it to his vocalizer. And then more soft words. Meant for him alone._

"_I love you. Ill find you, and when I do, I'll never leave you again."_

The words echoed through Prowls memories as he slowly pushed past the sedative induced darkness. He finished booting up, words he had once thought to be imagined still swirling around in his processor. They had been a promise hadn't they? And if Jazz kept his promises, then why had he left? His internal systems began to overheat again as emotions once again swamped him.

"I swear to Primus, if you melt another circuit im going to reformat you!"

Ratchets voice jerked his attention to the outside world, his temperature lowering as his fans kicked on to counter it. He attempted to squirm away from the imposing bulk of the medic leaning over him, only to have said medic restrain him. He struggled for a moment, then began to relax slowly. Refusing to meet the medics optics, he allowed himself to be pulled upright. He took the offered cube of med-grade energon and drank from it slowly. Relaxing slightly as Ratchet moved away from him to sit in a chair nearby.

"Alright, what happened? I want to know what you did that caused your frame to begin rejecting its new components." Contrary to his words, Ratchets voice was soft, non-judgmental.

"Jazz was here. I showed him the data-pad." Panic set in for a moment and his gaze shot around the area before landing on the discarded pad laying beside his berth. Ratchet retrieved it, and Prowl clutched it to him, much as he had as a sparkling. "It didn't go very well."

"I could have guessed that much." Ratchet snorted.

Prowl swirled the contents of his cube. "He said he promised my creator. But where is the logic to keeping a promise like that? My creator is dead, the cons know where I am and im a bigger target now then I ever was back then."

"Love is rarely logical, Prowl. And you know Jazz. He is a dedicated autobot that is fun loving and fiercely loyal to any he deems a friend. He prides himself on keeping his word. He has done so much that he isn't proud of in this war, that I believe its one of the few things true to himself that he refuses to let go of. Its an admirable trait."

Ratchets words echoed Jazz's, and Prowl found himself wondering just what he had done. Jazz's personality had been what had drawn him close, encouraging him to forge a friendship with the bot. He had known that special ops often required the mech to do things that went against his own programing. Prowl had even on several occasions, been witness to the mechs breakdown after a particularly nasty mission. Had been there to offer his friendship and understanding. He glanced up at the patiently waiting Ratchet.

"I need to speak with him."

"Ill release you from med-bay, but your still off duty until the new components align themselves with your systems completely. Try to avoid causing them to be rejected again. And make certain you keep your energy levels above 90%." Ratchet stood and began to remove the wires connecting Prowl to the monitors. "Should you need to talk, ill be here."

"Thanks, Ratchet." Standing, Prowl tossed a small smile at the medic before stretching to allow his armor to settle back into place. Giving his doorwings a gentle shake, he raised them to their normal position on his back. He glanced at Rio's picture on the data-pad before turning it off and subspacing it. It was time to the leave the past behind and look towards the future.

Leaving med-bay behind he made his way to his office. He knew better then to work, least he bring Ratchets wrath down on him, but the office was safe, secure. The one place he could relax completely. Sighing softly, he connected to Teletran and requested Jazz's location. The computers response had him collapsing back into his chair.

Blasters quarters. He knew the two were close friends, closer then he and Jazz had been. But if rumor had it right, lately they'd become more then friends. Though he didn't normally listen to rumors, Jazz had been talking about the comms-mech more lately. He wasn't sure how to handle this new change. Jazz had went straight from him to Blaster. Even if it wasn't what it seemed, it still stung. Perhaps it would do him well to wait, decide what he truly wanted before he faced Jazz again.

With that thought firmly in mind, he made his way to the Arks entrance and folded down into his car mode. Clicking on the stealth mod he carried, he vanished from sensors. He could still be seen, but any instrumentation scanning his area would not pick up his systems or spark signature. Revving his engine he took off across the desert, no destination in mind. Only the need to move, drive while he figured things out. He became lost in thoughts of the past, present and what the future could bring. He thought about Jazz, what he wanted from the mech, and if he would be willing to fight for it.

So lost in his thoughts, he completely missed the comm. signal from Ratchet. He continued on, drifting across the desert, unconsciously circling slowly back towards the Ark. Another comm. request came in, this time pinging with the Primes id. Startled, he quickly answered it.

"Prowl here, sir." He glanced around at his surroundings, only a few miles from the Ark, surprised to see darkness beginning to fall. It had been early morning when he had left.

A voice quite clearly not the Primes shouted over the open line. "Where the frag are you?! I released you from med-bay, but I did not give you permission to exit the ship!"

There was a murmur in the background, and then the Primes voice came over the comm. line. "Prowl, what is your location?"

"Tell him to get his aft back here so I can weld it to a berth!"

He shuddered, Ratchets voice carried far more venom then normal. Silently he sent his location across the line, already turning towards the Ark. It had seemed like a good idea at the time. Get out, clear his processor, figure out what he truly wanted. But now that he was going to be facing an angry medic, he wasn't so sure it had been a good idea after all.

"Prowl, hold your position. Jazz is nearly there. He will escort you back to base. Once Ratchet releases you again, we will meet to discuss a disciplinary action suitable to your leaving without permission."

"Yes, sir." He slid to a halt, waiting for the white form of the saboteur to materialize from the growing darkness.

As the nearly silent car pulled up to him, he sighed. Jazz did not greet him, and that did not bode well. It was rare that the mech didn't speak.

"I did not require an escort. I could have made it back to base on my own." Prowl couldn't help snapping as they got under way.

"Prime and Ratchets orders."

The drive back to base was silent and heavily charged with tension. Prowl not speaking because he simply did not know what to say, and Jazz seemingly refusing to. As they neared the Ark, he could see the lights of mechs returning from searching for him. He winced. It had never occurred that they would start a search party for him. He had left before for much longer periods without anyone freaking out about it. Granted, he had always informed the Prime that he was going, and had never been recovering from battle wounds.

As they neared the ships entrance he slowed with the intention of saying something, anything to Jazz, only to have the mech speed up and enter the Ark. He moved to follow, transforming once inside, only to have his arm grabbed and restrained securely by Ratchet. He turned to face the medic and flinched at the absolute fury evident in his face. Meekly, he allowed himself to be marched to the med-bay, ignoring the looks his fellow autobots sent his way.

Once the rooms doors closed behind them, Ratchet shoved Prowl on to a med-berth before disappearing into his office. He returned a moment later with a cube of energon and several scanners. The cube was shoved at him and he took it eagerly, only then realizing his energy levels had dropped below 50%.

"I told you to keep your energy levels above 90%. What the frag did you think you were doing, driving off across the desert? Or were you even thinking?" Ratchets voice had turned calm, soft even. And it was more frightening then his normal caustic attitude.

"That's exactly what I was doing. Thinking. Clearing my processor." He jerked at the biting tingle that ran through his doorwings caused by the scan Ratchet was running over them.

"You were supposed to be talking to Jazz, not off thinking." Ratchets gears whirled as his hand shifted into a tool and began to tweak wires in Prowls shoulder.

"He was with Blaster." Prowl couldn't keep the soft tremor of hurt from his voice.

"Perhaps you should have interrupted them. Might have saved me from having to put Blaster back together after Jazz turned him into scrap metal."

Ratchet nodded towards a berth off to the side, and Prowl noticed for the first time that Blaster was there, recharging softly. Shock rolled off him. Jazz had never, ever attacked a fellow bot unless it was in a training session.

"What happened?"

"Don't know. Neither bot will talk about it. Apparently Jazz told Prime, but he is the only one. When you were discovered missing, Jazz was allowed to go out and search for you. But when he got back he was sent right back to the brig." Ratchet shifted, putting away his medical tools and scanners, satisfied that Prowl had not undone his previous work.

"Can I speak with him?" Prowl sent a brief scan over Blasters frame, stunned at the amount of work that had recently been done to the bot.

"Afraid not. He has been ordered to solitary confinement for the period of two earth weeks. However you do have an appointment with Prime as soon as I release you." Ratchet smirked as Prowl winced again. He had disappointed their Prime, and that was almost more severe then any punishment he could hand out.

Solitary confinement. Two earth weeks, one of their orns, wasn't that much of a punishment. Specially for beating a fellow officer into scrap, but he knew Jazz. Knew that the social, music loving bot would be climbing the walls before the first week was up. The Prime had chosen wisely in his disciplinary action. Which made him wonder what was in store for him.


	3. Part 3

WARNINGS: This chapter is rated NC-17 and as such contains an attempted assualt. It also contains relationships between robots referred to as male, even though it is considered that Cybertronians have no gender.

(Part 3)

Jazz stalked along the corridors of the Ark, muttering to himself. He couldn't blame Prowl, not really. The mech just didn't see things the way he did. And despite his last words, Jazz had no intention of giving up on him. He loved Prowl with all his spark, and he would spend the rest of his vorns showing him if he had to. The only thing that would change his mind about that, was Prowl himself. If the mech decided he didn't want to see Jazz in that capacity, he would back off. It would hurt, but he would do it if he had too. But for now he needed advice, and the only mech he could think of was Blaster.

He touched the pad beside the door and a chime echoed through the room infront of him. A heavy thud and a muffled curse could be heard before the door opened to reveal a slightly unsteady Blaster. The red and grey mech stepped back to allow Jazz into the room, and as he entered, the smell of overcharged systems engulfed him. Deciding that now would not be the best time to chat with the obviously over-energized bot, he turned with the intention of leaving.

"Maybe I should come back another time, we can talk when your not over-energized."

A hand caught his arm, and Jazz turned with a questioning look on his faceplates.

"We can talk now." Blaster gave a slightly goofy grin and tightened his grip on Jazz's arm before tugging the Porsche close enough that he could smell the high-grade on the bots vented air. "Though there are more fun things we could be doing."

"Let go of me. Your over-energized, and we are just friends." Jazz gave a tug on his arm.

"Maybe I'm tired of just being friends." Blaster shifted closer, forcing Jazz to back up until his back hit the door. Keeping a hold of the saboteurs arm, he brought his other hand up and ran it slowly over Jazz's front bumper.

Jazz gave the mech a shove, succeeding in putting some space between them. "My spark belongs to Prowl. Always has, and always will."

Blaster laughed. "Prowl is a sparkless drone that wouldn't know love if it slapped him in the faceplates."

"You don't know what your talking about."

Jazz growled and his visor flashed dangerously. His armor vibrated slightly. Most mechs would have instantly backed up and left the general vicinity. That included Decepticons. Blaster however, being over-energized, misread the signals and instantly pressed himself close against Jazz once again.

"I know I could make you forget his name. You are wasting your time on him. He will never see you as the beautiful mech you are, never know just what you could do with those hands if you put your mind to it."

Blaster's hands moved firmly over Jazz's chassis as he spoke, tracing the details above his spark chamber before moving lower.

"Let go of me now." Jazz voice had dropped to a low pitch, dripping with warning. He shoved against Blaster, but the mech was leaning heavily against him.

"I really don't understand what it is you see in that cold and emotionless fragger anyway. He wouldn't hesitate to send you out on a suicide mission. He never shows even a hint of emotion when mechs give their lives to protect him on the battlefield. Ill bet he didn't even blink an optic when Praxus was destroyed."

Jazz snarled, his fingers curling into claws. Blasters hand found his interface panel and scraped over it, leaving several shallow gouges behind. He yelped, then slammed into the mech with enough force to knock him to the ground. Rage and the wish for revenge for all the things Blaster had said about Prowl curled about his spark and he followed the bot down, pinning him he began to systemically rip into whatever part of the mech he could reach. Moments later he caught himself, pausing with his hands curled into the armor protecting Blasters spark.

Shoving himself back, he fell on his aft and stared in shock at the scene before him. Blaster was practically in scraps even though no major systems had been hit. His spark clenched in regret just as the door opened and Ironhide burst into the room, his cannons drawn and whirring as he looked about for an enemy. Jazz raised a darkened visor to stare at the weapons specialist, shock flickering over his faceplates as he tried to come to terms with what he had done. To his friend no less.

Ironhide stared back for a moment before quietly calling for Ratchet and the Prime. His optics flickered over Blasters frame before coming back to inspect Jazz's thoroughly. He drew his own conclusions, but kept them to himself, concern brightening his optics as Jazz began to shake slightly. Relief flooded him when Ratchet finally arrived and made preparations for the two mechs to be moved to the med-bay.

Several long hours later found Jazz sitting uncomfortably in the Primes office, contemplating the events that had landed him there. Wondering briefly if he had somehow given Blaster the wrong idea, then deciding that he hadn't. It had to have been the high-grade. He sighed, knowing that if he pressed charges against the mech that his career as an autobot would be over and Blaster would be considered an outcast. Jazz wasn't willing to lose a friend over a stupid mistake. Not to mention the fact that the autobots needed the communications specialists skills as well.

Optimus Prime entered, and he stood, straightening to attention. "Report, Jazz."

"There is nothing to report, sir. It was a misunderstanding." Jazz stared at the floor, refusing to meet his Primes optics.

Optimus' optics narrowed. "Jazz, even if I hadn't read Ratchets report, I know you. It would have to be something drastic to force you to attack a fellow autobot, a friend even, that viciously."

"Sir, It was a misunderstanding. I am certain that once he sobers up, he will regret what happened. We can't afford to lose him because of this."

With a sigh, Prime moved to touch his third in commands shoulder. Jazz raised his helm to meet his commanders gaze, conviction and regret clouding his visor. "I want a truthful answer to this, Jazz. Consider it an order. Did he hurt you?"

Jazz knew that he meant more then just physical damage and shook his head. Truthfully the only thing that bothered him about the encounter was the damage he had done to his friends frame.

Optimus saw the truth in his friends visor and moved away, towards his desk. "Very well, Jazz. As a result of your actions against a fellow autobot, you are hereby sentenced to spend two earth weeks in the brig. You will not be allowed visitors other then Ratchet, You will not be allowed any form of entertainment. Your internal radio will be disabled." He turned back to his friend and allowed his faceplates to soften slightly. "If you need to speak with someone about what happened, Jazz..."

He let the sentence fade away, but Jazz understood and smiled his thanks. He sank into the chair before the Primes desk, waiting tiredly for Ironhide to come escort him to the brig. Only a few moments passed before the door slammed open and Ratchet stalked in. The irate medic walked straight up to the Prime and poked a finger into his faceplates.

"Where is Prowl?" His voice dripped with anger.

Jazz straightened up and Optimus took a step back.

"Isn't he in the Med-bay?"

"If he was in the Med-bay would I be here? I released him a few joors ago with specific instructions to keep his energy levels up and not to go anywhere near his work desk. What I want to know is why he isn't even onboard the ship, and why Teletran-1 has no clue as to where he is."

The next few minutes flew by in a blur for Jazz. He was vaguely aware of Optimus verifying that Prowl wasn't on board the ship, heard as their leader requested information on Prowls last known location from Red Alert, and snapped back to focus as groups of mechs were organized for search parties.

"Sir, May I join the search?"

Prime stared at Jazz for a moment before nodding. "Yes, we can use all the mech we have out there. But you will report to the brig when you get back."

"Yes sir." Jazz was already half way to the door by then.

Jazz drove in an ever-expanding circle around the Ark, his sensors tuned for the slightest thing that might indicate Prowls location. His spark tightened in its chamber at the thought of never seeing the mech again. Absolute relief and happiness pulsed within him when Prowl finally answered the Primes comm. Tracking it, he was already enroute by the time the SIC's coordinates were passed along to him.

As he pulled up and swung about in order to drive beside Prowl, he shifted through his processor, debating on what to say to the mech. The irritation in Prowls voice when he arrived caused him to decide against speaking other then to reply shortly about the Primes orders. After everything that had happened today, Jazz simply wasn't up to another argument.

As they neared the base, Jazz sped up and headed straight for the waiting Ironhide. At the moment, he wanted nothing more then to collapse onto one of the brigs berths and escape into recharge. He was normally known for facing things head on and never running from his problems. But the whole day had been one from the pit and he just wanted to forget it ever happened. He was vaguely aware of Prowl turning towards him as he left, but he forced himself to ignore it and continue on. After two earth weeks in the brig, he was sure he would be better equipped mentally to face the tactician.

Prowl stood at stiff attention infront of Optimus Prime's desk as said bot paced behind it. He had calculated a 90% chance that the Prime would not punish him for going AWOL as he had never done so before, but now watching the agitated pacing, he was beginning to wonder if he needed to redo those calculations.

"My SIC decides to go off on his own while still recuperating from major repairs, My TIC beats the living slag out of my communications officers, and my communications officer assaults my TIC." Prime swung about to face Prowl. "I want to know just what is going on here."

Prowl ignored the Primes question, his doorwings jerking upwards and flaring in a manner most Praxians demonstrated when protecting a bondmate. "Blaster assaulted Jazz?"

Optimus raised an optic ridge at Prowls display. "Stand down, Prowl." His voice held an edge of command that he rarely saw fit to use. "Jazz has chosen not to pursue charges against Blaster as the mech was over-energized at the time. It is his wish that the events not become popular knowledge because of how the other mechs would treat Blaster, and because his job as our communications officer would be over. We need every bot. I have every intention of speaking with Blaster when he is released from Ratchets care to ensure that something like this will not happen again."

"If Blaster was at fault, then why is Jazz in the brig?" Prowl shifted and allowed his doorwings to fall back to their normal level.

"Because while they don't know what happened exactly, most of the crew does know Jazz attacked Blaster. Since we can't allow the complete truth, I was forced to punish Jazz. Though you and I both know that the punishment is tame in regards to how either such manners would normally be handled in the Autobot army."

Prowl was torn between the urge to find Blaster and finish the job Jazz had started and going to Jazz and simply gathering him in his arms. As he could do neither, he forced himself to focus on the Prime as he continued his pacing.

Optimus remained silent, contemplating on how to deal with Prowl. He was certain now that there had been more to the two events that had occurred with his officers today. He had known Jazz had harbored feelings for his SIC for as long as he could remember, but he had been certain that Prowl had either been oblivious or hadn't returned the feelings. Now he knew differently. Perhaps some time alone would benefit the two of them.

He turned and watched as Prowl instantly straightened into full attention once more. "Prowl, because of your decision to leave the base without leave, I hereby order you be confined to your quarters for a period of three earth days. Additionally you will be confined to the Ark for a period of one earth month, during which time you will only be allowed to leave if there is a battle."

"Yes, Sir." Prowl shifted, gathering his courage. "Would it be possible for me to see Jazz before returning to my quarters?"

"Sorry Prowl, Jazz is not allowed visitors while he is in the brig. Ironhide will escort you to your quarters." He waved a hand and the doors slid aside to reveal Ironhide waiting in the hall.

Prowl gave a sigh and allowed himself to be led to his quarters and locked in. Two weeks before he could speak with Jazz. For what would normally be considered a short amount of time to them, it seemed to stretch out into infinity.

Much later Prowl clutched the data-pad close as he ducked under the security camera just outside his quarters. He had deliberately waited until it was late enough that Inferno would have carted his mate off to their quarters, aware that the only way he would be caught would be if something happened to require the security director to review the overnight footage. But it was still wisest to be careful.

Taking full advantage of his ability to move stealthily and tuning his doorwings sensitivity for the darkness, he made his way silently through the darkened halls to the door of the brig. Once there, he paused, uncertain of how to proceed. He could use his codes, but that would cause Teletran-1 to alert the Prime. Finally deciding, he began to hack the lock much the same way he had with the one in his own quarters.

The lock chirped, signaling success, and with a smirk he let himself into the brig. After closing the silently, he turned unsurprised to see the blue glow of a visor regarding him with curiosity.


End file.
